he was very attentive to the issue we were talking about. he didn't seem distracted at all. he was very attentive and very engaging in the issue. >> there was a discussion in that particular piece of early whispers among cabinet members about possibly invoking the 25th amendment. you are a cabinet member. did you ever hear a whisper? consider ever such a whisper conceivable? >> i'm missing out. i never heard it then and i haven't heard it since then. i don't know who was whispering to who. i never heard it. i keep my head down, keep plowing in that way. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are going to go to open phones in just a minute. first, today, former president

obama is stumping in california for seven democratic candidates as the democrats attempt to take the house in this year's midterm election. you can watch that coverage on p.m., beginning at 2:30 on c-span and c-span.org. we will have a preview of that rally today. good morning. guest: good morning. thank you for having me. host: what are we going to see from president -- former president obama? guest: he will be there to rally supporters around democrats in california who are running for competitive house seats there. we are closely watching his speech at the university of illinois yesterday. people,o inspire young

democrats to come out and vote. he said yesterday that it's more important now than ever. host: what makes california so important that he chose it as his first stop? guest: i think you are seeing this here that california is having an outsized influence in terms of the map democrats are looking at to take back the house. toocrats need 23 seats regain control of the house of representatives. depending on how you look at it, there's 7-10 seats democrats think they will have a chance at taking back here in california that are currently held by republicans. that's a huge number when you think about the national makeup and how they are going to carve that path.

these democrats, seven candidates, they all are running in gop house seats where hillary clinton was the victor in the presidential election. of makes up the core batch of seats nationwide they are looking at right now. host: any big-name republicans being targeted? guest: definitely. congressmantime whose name has been in the news a lot, being too cozy with the russians, wanting to promote closer relations with the russians. the democrat running against him , you've got walters, part of the gop leadership, the only

woman in the california delegation in the house, she is being challenged by katie porter. these people are running against high-profile incumbents who have won many of their elections before. so, they feel like they have an uphill battle. host: will this be a test of president obama's ability to inspire the democratic voters? what will we learn at the end of the day today about president obama's current ability to move votes? guest: really, the proof is in the pudding for weeks from now. -- four weeks from now. lots of people vote by mail. the point is to demonstrate whether or not obama can inspire -based democrats. democrats.base

the people who will fill this ballroom, they are volunteers related to the campaign somehow. really, the most powerful part of his message potentially could be to inspire democrats who wouldn't otherwise boat in these midterm elections to come out and vote. walk and talk to other voters to inspire them to vote. in california, for democrats, in midterm years, republicans consistently turn out the vote, but democrats tend not to vote as often. los: we want to thank angeles times reporter christine mai-duc for joining us. guest: thank you. host: let's go to our bones and talk about any public policy we talked about today or you want to bring up. democrats can call 202-748-8000.

republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. we are available on social media on twitter and facebook. from go to gary calling indiana on the democratic line. good morning. caller: this is gary from indiana. i'm a common man, i'm here to take a stand. gentleman, you've got a lot of spark and charisma. i want to say that on behalf of everybody. why i don'te things think mr. trump will be reelected. didn't vote for him will vote against him again. the people who did vote for him

-- the voters who didn't turn out will go to vote against him. that's three groups of people he's up against right now. mr. trump, if you are so sure of yourself getting reelected, you better rethink about that. ellison would make a fine president. he is more for the people. he gives democrats a better chance to win. we would getat, more of a fair break with a man like that. host: let's go to tom calling from california on the republican line. good morning, tom. caller: i would like to talk about the kavanaugh hearings. it's being underreported, the

fact that kavanaugh -- the second amendment. the amendments are more important than laws. there are many people who want to take away the right of citizens to have even the most basic firearms. i think that is wrong. kavanaugh will say that. that is being overlooked. host: james calling from louisiana on the independent line. caller: good morning. we appreciate you, c-span. i was wondering has anybody paid attention -- the week before all attentionsed, was shown -- the funeral of following the funeral of aretha franklin. the spotlight was taken completely off of donald trump.

was relieved to put the spotlight back on him. host: john calling from fairfax, virginia on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. i want to talk to people who regretted their vote for trump, people who didn't vote because they didn't like killer clinton. that hillary clinton. -- because they didn't like hillary clinton. please vote for a democrat who will regain control -- please encourage your friends who are voting age to go out and vote and contribute to local campaigns. campaigns for local offices and statewide offices are important because they control the senses

taken in 2020, how the districts is taken's -- census are020, how the districts reconstituted. host: susan calling for massachusetts on the independent line. susan, good morning. caller: i want to commend you, your intelligent and very patient and really good at this job. i really enjoyed the code talker interview you just conducted. when iscinating to me, reflect on the luminaries of 20th-century politics and these women, the hidden figures women, the common denominator seems to stem,igorous class of english literature, base

education through high school and college. certainly, martin luther king benefited from such an education. the conversation you had before with a broad swath of american society that can't differentiate between junk news and real news -- it's really a failure of public education and the dumbing down of the curriculum. i wonder if we could have hidden figures women today or code talkers or codebreakers today. the education system is so weak. i want to give a shout out to my niece. she's going to study latin as a language in high school. congratulations to ion of pressley. ayanna

i'm much more conservative than sley, but massachusetts is the most locked up and come and see in the country -- incumbency in the country. there are people who hold office for 30-40 years. it is such a closed political process, pressley's victory really encouraged me. host: tom calling from hollywood, florida. good morning. caller: my comment is twofold regarding the 25th movement. i was in high school during watergate. i watched it. many people forgot when richard nixon became an uninvited co-conspirator, both sides, republicans and democrats, they did what was right and went down and told mr. nixon it was time to go. is already an

uninvited co-conspirator, he's been indicted for breaking federal laws. we know and forgot that after he was elected, there were over 1000 health care professionals so concerned of the mental fitness of donald trump, they sent a letter to the new york times about that. maybe the senate and congress need to put on their big girl and big boy pants and defend the country and go down and tell the president it is time to go. he is out of control and not fit. he is hurting our country. thank you. lakeside, california on the democratic line. caller: good morning. how are you this morning? host: i'm doing fine. caller: i have a real concern, i watched your hearings on c-span

-- host: i think we might have lost hildra. caller: i'm still here. can you hear me?? host: you dropped off for a second. go ahead. caller: i watched your hearings on kavanaugh. he lied in 2006. it has been proven that he lied. he lied in 2006 for-five times -- 4-5 times. he should have been impeached. when is the news media going to start covering that? he lied and should be impeached. why would he get on the supreme court? host: teresa calling from illinois on the republican line. good morning. caller: thank you for c-span. obamatill very upset with sent themine, that he

blankets to defend themselves against russian tanks and machine guns. i'm very upset that he sent envelope of cash to iran, our archenemy. that is really treason. i'm very upset about it. host: let's go to charles calling from louisiana on the republican line. good morning. caller: yes, sir. beef for some time with how we look at american lifestyle. i'm a christian. i believe jesus loves everyone of us. we are all sinners. if we are saved, we are saved by grace. sometimes, we confuse issues and our lifestyles when we

fornicate, we commit adultery, not faithful to our wives or allands, and homosexuality, of these things are the last and hardness and perversions of us as sinners and we need jesus big-time. abortion is murder. life begins at conception and it is a special little, new human being that begins at conception. it has everything is going to be right there. all that needs is nourishment, just like me. i need nourishment every day. jesus loves us, even though we are sinners. we need to repent and come to him. host: sue calling from gaithersburg, maryland on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call.

i wanted to make a comment about the kavanaugh hearing. i watched them completely on c-span, great coverage. first, i had reservations about kavanaugh, was very concerned because immigration is my main issue. i was concerned at first his real big ties to the catholic church because in maryland, where i live, the catholic church has been responsible for the importation of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into our state. i was concerned that his wife was the town manager of chevy chase and they allow illegal aliens to vote in elections. i was concerned about the immigration issue. after watching the hearings, i was blown away with what a wonderful pic this was. his brilliance, his compassion, his humanity. he was very clear about the separation of powers. indirectly, he was talking about daca.

daca should be ended. it was an illegal thing obama did. he was very clear about the executive powers, laws cannot be made by the executive branch, they must be made by congress. it is not constitutional for laws to be made at the executive level. daca hopeful that when gets to the supreme court, it will be overturned and proven to be illegal. based on everything he said, the way he answered the questions, his stamina, this is a more brilliant pick than gorsuch was. i thank you for your coverage. host: jerry calling from las vegas, nevada on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i have to agree with the lady that was on.

kavanaugh did a job -- an excellent job. he was a great pick. the lady from california saying trump is doingk an excellent job. his picks for the supreme court show what a good job he's doing. host: eli calling from cocoa, florida. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm raised democratic, a democrat. islong as same-sex marriage passed and the democrats vote for it and push it, i will be voting republican. trump hast president done a great job. he changed many things in america. here arering jobs

helping us long-term. we need to bring the factories back to america. everyone needs to vote republican. host: let's go to barbara calling from oklahoma city, oklahoma on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to comment on something that was said it while ago -- a while ago about why we are so obsessed with the russians in our elections. this is the first time we have had a democrat or republican president, either one, collude with the russians. his family colluded with the russians. , theyne who supports him collude with the russians. that's why we are upset about it now. we've never had this before. they didn't have

anyone republican or democrat or independent colluding with them. now, they do. we will get to the bottom of it. thank you. host: let's go to frank calling from new york on the republican line. . good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: i'm fine. go ahead. caller: i want to say to all the democrats who are listening, get used to trump. i think trump is going to be one of the best presidents we've ever had. despite the fake news and all that -- i disregard that. i think the democrats should get used to it and vote republican. host: let's go to mary ellen calling from pennsylvania on the democratic line. go ahead. are you there, maryellen? caller: yes, i'm here. host: go ahead.

caller: the lack of information some people have, the woman just called and said executive orders aren't real laws. the desegregation of the army was by executive order. the woman who said obama had to read,rom side to side to they don't even realize their depth of racism. you couldn't get into harvard law and be on the law review without being pretty bright. hisould have been from charisma that he was the head of it, but he couldn't be so stupid that he could hardly speak a sentence. these kinds of things are so insulting. host: diego calling from miami, florida. good morning. caller: good morning. great show, by the way. my comment has to do with the incredible divide between republicans and democrats.

, but iually a democrat didn't see the number for the democratic line. the divide has become too big to have any kind of discord or conversation. i just don't know how we are going to be getting through the next 4-8 years here. god bless this country, even though i'm an atheist. thank you very much. host: sandy calling from newport news, virginia on the independent line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i would like to comment, first of all, i'm against abortion. i believe the baby is a baby upon conception. i do believe that. however, i would like to point out all of those people who were so fierce with that dissent that they intimidate those people who

do go to have that done, i don't agree with it, but i don't feel like it's my right to block them from doing whatever they are led to do of their own accord. once those children get here, which is what so many advocate for, and they end up in foster care or in these difficult i don't seen life, those people lining up to adopt those children. foster care is overrun, cops need volunteers to help with these children who made it here. i don't see any of those people lining up to adopt those children who made it here. the women did not have the abortions, and they need help with those children. host: robert calling for michigan on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. i've listened to you a little

bit, to c-span. i study the bible from genesis to revelation. i know exactly what's going to happen to this country, to israel and all the other countries. there's nothing from this media, from all media that all i do is check them about the rothschild and illuminati. texasrobert calling from on the republican line. caller: good morning/ i think trump is doing a great job. is trying to disturb this country. this country was founded on christian values. they want to destroy this country. with same-sex marriage and gender and everything -- the bible says god created man and woman. thiswant to destroy country.

this is the greatest country in the world. if you don't like it, leave this country. all: we would like to thank of our guests and all of our callers this morning. join us again tomorrow morning when "washington journal" comes back at 7:00 a.m. right here. have a good day. we will see you tomorrow morning. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] ♪ announcer: today, we will showcase how content is used in the classroom. after that, the confirmation hearing for brett kavanaugh.

of formerage president barack obama at a campaign rally in california for democratic u.s. house candidates running in south caro -- self-care -- south california districts. nearly 20 years, c-span has invited high school in middle teachers to its network on training for how to use content in the classroom. programmer, the included 60 teachers paired up next, a forum with the middle their teachers describing experience in the classroom and their students. [applause] >> morning. a lovely day in washington. i am sure you're glad to be up this early. we are going to spend about an hour, and the main purpose of this hour is to have you tell us